For much of the offseason, Mike Florio and Chris Simms of Pro Football Talk have been at the forefront of reporting that Tom Brady had conversations about joining the Miami Dolphins as a minority owner, with the potential for his rights to be traded from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers so he could play quarterback for the team under Sean Payton.
Brady was given a chance to deny that there were any conversations about him joining the Dolphins in any capacity Thursday, as he prepares for his third season as Buccaneers quarterback. He declined to do so.
"I mean, again, I had a lot of conversations with a lot of people, as I've had for the last three or four years of my career, about different opportunities when I'm done playing football," Brady said. "So, I kind of made a decision of what I would like to do, and I'll get to be in the game of football.
"I think for me, the most important thing is where I'm at now and what I hope to do for this team. That's been my commitment to this team and this organization. It's been so much fun for me to come here two years ago. It's been almost two and a half years now, and it's been an incredible part of my football journey. And it's not over, and we've still got a lot to accomplish.
"I've got a long life ahead and there's a lot of fun things to do ahead -- I'm looking forward to what's ahead in football. But at the same time, none of us are promised much beyond what we have now and this is the current moment, and I'm really excited about going out there to try and compete and win a championship."
Notably, Brady didn't say no to the question he was asked. And he could have, even if there was truth to the report. After all, he's Tom Brady. This was a bold question to ask at all, and it's pretty unlikely he was going to get a tough follow-up.
What we do know is that "team sources who requested anonymity confirmed that the Dolphins contacted the Saints to seek permission to speak to Payton," per Florio. What ultimately transpired is that shortly after Payton resigned as the head coach of the Saints, New Orleans blocked the request of the Dolphins to interview him, given that he was still under contract.
Meanwhile, Brady announced his retirement on Feb. 1, just hours before former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores sued the franchise -- along with the New York Giants, Denver Broncos and NFL as a whole -- alleging racial discrimination. At that point, Florio says, the entire idea of Brady joining the organization fell through.
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The Buccaneers couldn't have prevented Brady from becoming a minority owner of the Dolphins for the 40 days that he was retired. However, they wouldn't have had to oblige and trade his rights as a player to the Dolphins if the plan ultimately got that far. Perhaps they would have elected to do right by Brady if he requested they do so, but Tampa Bay has him under contract for 2022, so they didn't have to allow him to play for another team this year if they didn't want to.
Brady ended up unretiring to return to the Buccaneers, but Bruce Arians retired as head coach and Todd Bowles will now take over the role. As Brady alluded to in his answer, he's also lined up a lucrative post-career opportunity, inking a 10-year/$375 million deal to join FOX Sports as their No. 1 game analyst whenever his career concludes.
Whether Brady takes a detour to Miami in between playing for the Buccaneers and working for FOX remains to be seen.
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